Tony was tinkering in his lab when the incessant beeping started. He ignored it at first so he could concentrate on his latest brilliant idea. This new endeavor was completely different from anything he had ever attempted. It had absolutely no military or Avengers implications whatsoever. There was no chance BARF would accidentally destroy a city or create an A.I. bent on annihilation. BARF would help him become a better man-a man Pepper might actually be able to look in the eye.

He missed her so much. He really should have expected her to be gone when he got home. She had been very clear how she felt about him going back to being Ironman but then they learned the location of Loki's scepter, and things kind of escalated from there. Pepper was gone. She called it "a break", but even when he had assured her he was leaving the avenging to Steve, Natasha, and the newbies, she still stayed away.

Tony knew she was upset about Ultron. Ultron was supposed to be his greatest creation. It was supposed to make it possible for him to actually keep his promise to Pepper and keep her safe at the same time. Boy, had that backfired .

The beeping just wouldn't quit, and Tony was actually having trouble focusing. "Friday, what is that annoying sound?"

"It appears one of your long distance trackers is beeping on a project in Antarctica," Friday replied.

"Antarctica? I don't have anything going in Antarctica. Are you sure it's not the cold fusion project in Nevada or the theoretical physics thing Banner and I had going in Detroit?"

"It is most definitely coming from Antarctica. I don't see anything in your database about this project, but it is your tracker, sir," the A.I. replied.

Tony sighed. "I guess I better check it out. Cancel all of my appointments for tomorrow, Friday."

"You have nothing on tomorrow's schedule, Mr. Stark. You haven't had any appointments on your schedule since you returned. I believe Ms. Potts is handling all of them personally. Shall I inform her of your travel plans, sir?"

"No, she probably isn't interested in my plans at the moment anyway. If she calls, patch her through to me. Otherwise, I'll be back as soon as I figure out what this alarm business is all about. I'm sure Bruce just had something going before he-" Tony paused to look for the right word, "before he left." Disappeared and presumed dead were the thoughts that came to mind, but Tony couldn't even bring himself to say those words to his A.I. assistant.

Tony wracked his brain for possible reasons one of his sensors was going off in Antarctica as he flew the quinjet towards the coordinates. He really couldn't think of any reason Bruce would have for using a frozen tundra for research. All of Bruce's efforts outside of their few projects together had been gamma related. Antarctica didn't make any sense.

Tony finally landed and suited up. He found the small pod pretty quickly. It didn't take him long to open it, and what he found inside shocked him to the core. There was a child inside. The boy was sleeping, probably drugged in Tony's opinion. He couldn't have been more than ten or twelve years old, and he had red hair and, unbelievably, he was wearing a uniform that reminded Tony of Cap's suit. Tony lifted the child out of the pod and quickly carried him back to the quinjet. Once inside, Tony placed the boy on a gurney and hooked him up to the monitor.

"Vitals are good," he said to no one in particular, "but how did this kid get all the way out here?"

Once he felt confident the boy wasn't in any significant medical danger, Tony loaded the pod into the quinjet and took off. He needed answers and he didn't think he was going to get them in this frozen wasteland.

A lot of things bothered Tony about this mystery boy. Who would leave a kid here? Why was his tracker on the pod? Why did this kid look like he had just been beat up? He was covered in bumps and bruises. And, the Captain America style suit was very puzzling. Tony set the quinjet on course for the Avengers Compound, figuring this one out was going to require the team.

Avengers Compound

"Not so fast and loose with your punches, Falcon. Keep it controlled or Rhodey will get the upper hand," Natasha shouted. "Wanda, hold your force field a little longer. You have to concentrate."

Steve walked up with a cup of tea and handed it to Natasha. She sighed as she took a sip. "Thank you," she said with a small smile, "and I don't mean just for the tea. Thanks for last night."

"Anytime," Steve replied, "that's what friends are for, right? Or, did friendship change since the forties?"

Natasha laughed at his obvious joke. "Well, I'm probably not the world's best expert on friendship. I could count on one hand the number of real friends I've actually let in to my life, but you are a good friend."

"You know, you could start letting down a few of those walls and look around. These guys have more than just Avengers potential. There's some real friendship potential here as well."

Natasha smirked. "Not sure that's a good idea, Cap. I need to whip them into shape. It's like parenting right? I cant be their friend. I need to be able to bust their chops when they screw up."

"I wouldn't know much about parenting. Ma was the best, but she wasn't exactly around much. I'd like to think she saw me as her friend as much as she saw me as her son. Lord knows she must have needed a friend."

"Yeah, I don't remember much about my parents, but I think I remember them being protective. I remember my mother making me hold her hand when we went to the store. She never wanted me out of her sight. I think my father worked a lot, but I remember him kissing my forehead when he thought I was sleeping."

"Those are some good memories to have," Steve said softly.

"If they are even real," Natasha replied. "They could just be false implanted memories put there for some twisted Red Room purpose for all I know."

Steve frowned. "Can't see where they could gain much from those few memories. I bet they're real."

Natasha smiled. "I'd like to think so."

"You ever thought about having kids? I mean, with him."

"You can say his name, Rogers. I'm not going to break. And, no, Bruce and I wouldn't have had children. He wouldn't have wanted to risk the potential effects from the gamma rays, and," Natasha paused, not really certain why she was telling Steve something so personal, "I can't have children. The Red Room wanted the perfect assassin. They made sure there wouldn't be any complications like babies destroying their plans."

"I'm sorry, Nat."

"Don't be," Natasha replied. "I've made peace with it for the most part. I'm Aunt Nat to Clint's kids, and, if you'll ever get yourself out there, hopefully I can be Aunt Nat to yours."

Steve groaned. "I think it's about seventy years too late for me. I don't plan on having a family. Besides the possibility of passing on the serum to a child, I wouldn't feel right about bringing a child into my world. I'm an Avenger."

"So is Clint," Natasha pointed out. "If we find you a nice girl like Laura and buy you a farm-"

"No, not going to happen," Steve said adamantly.

"Peggy wouldn't begrudge you a family, Cap."

"Believe it or not, Romanoff, my reasons have nothing to do with Peggy. She had a good life, married a good man, raised a family, and started Shield. I'm glad she had it all. I just don't think it's the right thing for me. That's all."

Natasha stared at Steve a moment. She could tell he was telling the truth. It surprised her a little. One of the reasons she had worked so hard to fix him up was because she thought he would make a great dad. Honestly, it was one of the big reasons why she hadn't set out to get him for herself. She knew he used to watch her six for more reasons than just safety in the field. It would have been almost too easy to seduce him, but he was her friend. She wanted him to have the whole package, and a broken Russian assassin didn't fit the bill.

It had actually been a good thing that Steve and Sam had been gone for so long. Natasha had time to get over her little crush and realize Bruce shared some of the same demons as her. Too bad she had to blow it and force him into becoming the Hulk again, but running away when people were in danger wasn't going to wipe that red from her ledger.

"Is that a quinjet landing? Were we expecting anyone?" Natasha asked as she watched the remote controlled landing bay door open.

"No, we better check it out," Steve replied.

Tony already had the quinjet doors open when Natasha and Steve arrived. "What's going on, Tony?" Natasha asked as soon as she saw the sleeping boy.

"I honestly have no idea, but I just found this kid in Antarctica. We've got a real mystery on our hands."

Natasha listened intently as Tony told them the story. She looked down at the sleeping boy with interest. There was something oddly familiar about him, but she was certain she had never laid eyes on him in her life.

All of the Avengers that were present kept a vigil in the infirmary while the boy slept. Tony took a few blood samples and Natasha changed the bandage on his arm. "Whoever he is, he has been through something traumatic," she said softly, "but he seems to be healing quickly. That's kind of odd."

"Everything about this situation is odd," Tony replied. "I'm going to run some tests on this blood sample then I need to tear apart that pod looking for clues. Vision, Rhodey, you're with me."

"He's probably going to be hungry when he wakes up," Wanda said softly. "I'll start some soup."

"If you're making your kapustnica, I'll help," Sam said, following her out of the room.

"I'm pretty sweaty. I better get a shower," Bucky said before making his own exit and leaving Steve and Natasha alone with the boy.

"I wonder where he's from," Steve said softly.

"Well, not Antarctica, that's for sure. What do you make of his outfit? Think he's a Captain America fanboy?" Natasha replied.

"It does look a lot like mine. That's for sure. He's just a kid. We've got to find his family. They must be worried sick."

"Maybe," Natasha replied, but her thoughts were a little darker. "He has seen battle, Cap. I'm not sure he has a family to look for him."

As they continued to speak softly, the boy slowly opened his eyes. Natasha and Steve were by his side instantly. "Mom, Dad, is that really you?"